A recent British study makes it clear that regular exercise actually does help counteract damage from excess sitting and boosts your health big time. Your goal, the experts say, should be 10,000 steps per day.

A recent British study makes it clear that regular exercise actually does help counteract damage from excess sitting and boosts your health big time. Your goal, the experts say, should be 10,000 steps per day.

Photo: By Lance Iversen, Staff Photographer

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Add raspberries to your diet

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Raspberries are a hot new subject for botanists and biological researchers.

This year's Experimental Biology conference saw six studies presented on the fruit - and not one elicited a questionable sound or smell. The reaction was quite the opposite.

Scientists from around the globe have discovered that this nubby, red fruit contains a variety of important nutrients that may help protect you from cardiovascular disease and bone loss and keep your blood-sugar levels healthy and liver function strong. But that's not all. New data show that raspberries also reduce your risk for a roster of metabolically based chronic conditions, such as being overweight or obese, Type 2 diabetes and even Alzheimer's disease. Seems raspberries may ease bodywide inflammation that is associated with such conditions.

So we suggest you start your day with a handful of these tasty treats sprinkled on your steel cut oatmeal or blended into a smoothie (see some great recipes at sharecare.com). Toss them in a lunch salad dressed with a dash of raspberry vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. Mix them into some nonfat Greek yogurt for an afternoon snack and consider them a great dessert choice when drizzled with melted dark chocolate alongside a sliced banana or mixed with blueberries.

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What do Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, D.C., and Washington state have in common? They've legalized recreational marijuana use for adults. And a total of 24 states allow medical marijuana in various ways: In New York, you cannot smoke it, although you can inhale a vapor, eat it, use a tincture or take pills. More than 12 states have decriminalized possession.

No wonder marijuana use more than doubled from 2001 to 2013. Unfortunately, according to a study in JAMA Psychiatry, in 2012-13 nearly 30 percent of users had marijuana use disorder, otherwise known as MUD. That's a huge percentage. Symptoms include problems with normal functioning, cravings and withdrawal symptoms, such as inability to sleep, restlessness, nervousness, anger or depression within a week of ceasing heavy use. This MUD treatment also makes you older.

There also are neurocognitive and psychiatric repercussions of MUD, especially in young people and young adults. When researchers at Columbia University Medical Center looked at the brains of folks who started smoking cannabis at 16, became dependent by 20 and have been dependent for the past seven years, they found that compared with nonsmokers they had lower dopamine release in brain areas that affect learning and working-memory tasks. The depression associated with withdrawal also is a likely result of alterations in dopamine availability. So don't get stuck in the MUD; if you or someone you love needs help with marijuana dependence, go to findtreatment.samhsa.gov to get started creating a healthier, happier future.

Q: I work in a claims office and am mostly sitting for up to seven hours a day. I hear that nothing I do with exercise will counter the damage I'm doing to my body. What am I supposed to do, quit my job?

A: Don't be discouraged. There's a lot you can do to counter the effects of sitting for hours a day. But you're right, there are health risks involved in sitting a lot, day after day. It increases your risk for obesity, cancer, diabetes, depression and a cluster of lifestyle-induced problems, from heart attack to headaches. And several studies have said hitting the gym after work doesn't undo the damage.

Thank heavens there's a however: Making sure you break up your sit-down time can really help. Just standing up every 30-60 minutes, walking around, doing some in-place stretches and taking a couple of flights of stairs awakens your muscles, alters your glucose level, helps lower your waist size and your triglycerides. And now a recent British study makes it clear that regular exercise actually does help counteract damage from excess sitting and boosts your health.

The researchers tracked folks who met the recommended guidelines for physical activity and had lots of sit time, as well as those who had other combos of sedentary and active behavior. Turns out if you're physically active, even if you also sit down a lot, compared with folks who sit a lot and get very little physical activity, you'll have a smaller waist circumference and lower total cholesterol, BMI and A1C (a measure of glucose levels over time), plus less bodywide inflammation.

So make sure you move around as much as possible during the day (just two minutes every hour really helps) and take that after-work walk (headed for 10,000 steps daily) or hit the gym, ride a bike, swim. You'll de-stress, have fun and get healthier with every move.